Primary election

By Cameron Plumley

Student Reporter

With the March primary elections approaching, community members and Amarillo College faculty members are encouraging students to vote.

Kimberly Anderson, from the Amarillo chapter of the League of Women Voters, stressed the importance of participating in elections. “Every election is very important when it comes to student life – many things in education are driven by legislative policy so when you are voting for your next Texas rep. or Texas senator it’s important to know they are making policies every day that can impact schools and college education.”

Some races may be more important to students than others. “The state board of education makes decisions about curriculum, rules and whether charters are approved so it is a very impactful and important race for education,” Anderson said.

During the past two years, the pandemic has had an impact on voter turnout. Sonya Letson, from the League of Women Voters, said all the necessary safety measures are in place. “I think that as we have worked through our experiences with COVID in the past couple of years, people are aware of the precautions that they feel that they may need to take to stay safe.”

Aaron Favor, an AC government instructor, also pointed out the importance of voting. “Whoever is in office is going to make decisions that will either directly or indirectly impact students, so it’s important that they take the time to vote,” he said.

Anderson said, before going to vote, students should do their homework. “If you know where and when and you get informed the next thing is to just do it – take a friend with you and cast your vote,” she said

The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization whose mission is to focus on vital issues of concern to members of the public.

Voting begins March 1, 2022, and there will be many different places where you can cast your vote.  If you are needing a voter’s guide or information on where to vote for the upcoming election visit VOTE411.org.